Stardust Dreams (39 page)

Between the drug and
Josep's suggestion, he had been immobilized, but he had still been able to hear
and comprehend parts of what had gone on around him.

She had saved his life. He
owed her everything, yet the only thing she wanted from him was a lift home to
see Aster, then a ride to wherever Theodophilus was for an audition. He had
already agreed to that much, and he wouldn't renege, even though it was in
direct opposition to his own wishes. He had to come up with something else—a
way to thank her and say good-bye at the same time— something she wasn't
expecting. An idea started to percolate as he headed for the facility chamber,
and by the time he felt presentable again, he knew how he would surprise her.

He was the one to get a
surprise though, when he entered the bridge and saw Cherry alone at the
navigator's station. "Where the
drek
is Mar-Dot?"

Cherry turned around and
smiled sweetly. "What a lovely greeting. Are we a bit hung over or just
the usual grumpy?"

He gave her a sheepish grin
as he bent down to give her a soft kiss. "Sorry, love. Good morning."
He kissed her again. "Or rather, good evening." With a blink of his
eyes he made an enormous bouquet of red and white flowers in a crystal vase
appear on the panel in front of Cherry. "I would give you the real thing
if I could." Taking her hand, he sat down in his chair and pulled her onto
his lap for the kind of greeting he had meant to give her. "Thank
you."

With a twinkle in her eye,
she said, "It was my pleasure, sir."

"That's nice of you to
say, but—"

She briefly pressed her
lips to his. "If I say it was a pleasure, it was. Now tell me how you
feel."

"I'm fine. Better than
fine actually. And I am extremely appreciative of everything you did, but I
would like to know why you're at the controls."

"Mar-Dot was dead on
their feet. I may be an amateur, but I'm at least alert, and I know enough to
call for help if something happens. Anyway, I've only been alone here for a
couple of hours. We're heading for Norona, by the way." She explained the
reason for her decision, which he agreed with, then they reviewed everything
that had occurred while he was incapacitated.

"You should get a
commendation, love. You may be an amateur, but you performed like a real
professional. Probably saved millions of lives besides mine."

"Really?" Cherry
beamed with pride. "Wait till I tell Aster she's no longer the only Terran
heroine in Innerworld. I wonder how she's doing. That baby is due in another
week or so."

He gave her a squeeze. "From
everything you've told me about your friendship, she wouldn't dare go into
labor without you being there. I promised to have you back in time and I will,
you'll see. There's only one thing I'm concerned about."

She sat up and cocked her
head at him.

"I have no idea what
Bessima looks like. I realize she would recognize me by my hair, if nothing
else. But if she has been projecting my image to the Terrans, everyone else
might recognize me, too. I figure I'll have to disguise myself to prevent
panic, in which case Bessima would have no reason to introduce herself to me. How
am I going to locate her?"

"I suppose you could
go back to the rendezvous point several days in a row and look for a big, ugly,
scarred woman who showed up every day."

"Your assumption about
her appearance is reasonable, but not necessarily accurate. At any rate, we
don't know for certain how many days she'll keep going back before she gives
up. And what if there's a big crowd?"

"Hmmm. A crowd in
front of the White House is a definite possibility.
Shoot!
What am I
thinking of? There's no problem. I forgot to tell you. Josep made my hand
tingle when he touched it. Now I'm positive you were right about the Illusian
chemistry business. All I'd have to do is walk around and touch anyone who
might be Bessima, then point her out to you."

"Wait one minute. Who
said you were going with me?"

"Of course I'm going
with you. By your own admission, I'm your
partner
on this assignment. That
means I get to see it through to the end. I've already figured it all out. We
make the report to the Consociation Regent, then we check in with Rom and Aster
in Innerworld. They'll help us with everything we need to get along in
Washington while searching for Bessima. We should have several days' leeway. I
could even show you around the Capitol!"

"We'll see," was
his only answer, but when they landed on Norona two days later, he was
convinced that she should accompany him to give his report and turn the
document over to the Consociation.

With both of them dressed in
their white jumpsuits, Cherry thought they looked quite official as they were
brought before Regent Esquinerra. After all they'd been through together,
Gallant hadn't thought to warn Cherry about the Regent.

Although the Ruling
Tribunal of Norona made up the strongest element of the Consociation,
Esquinerra was not Noronian… nor was she anything close to humanoid.

Sitting on a wheeled
pedestal in the Regent's chambers was a big, squishy lump of pink clay about
the size of a beach ball, with a single black marble in the front. As Cherry
and Gallant approached, the clay moved on its own, reshaping itself into a
tall, straight column. The black marble seemed to be staring down at them.

"Madame Regent,"
Gallant said to the clay with a gentlemanly bow, "it is good to see you
again. May I present Cherry Cochran, a special friend and my partner on this
last mission.

A bit stunned, Cherry did
the only thing that came to mind. She curtsied.

A sound similar to glass
wind chimes whispered around her and the Regent relaxed back into a lump. Blended
in with the pleasant tinkling had been the word "Welcome."

Gallant proceeded to give
Esquinerra a concise account of his mission, revealing both Josep's duplicity
and his final act of heroism. The truth of his own origins remained a secret,
however. He had Cherry personally relate Josep's final messages. After the
Regent was briefed, Gallant held out the copy of the Illusian hundred-year plan
and a portion of the clay formed an extended arm to take it from him.

"You have done well,
as usual, Gallant Voyager," the Regent tinkled. "And your friend has
earned our gratitude. Is there any service you desire:
¹
"

"Yes, madame. Due to
Cherry's involvement in this assignment, she was unable to keep a very
important appointment with Theodophilus, the director of the Noronian
Performing Company. I would personally appreciate it if you would use your
influence to acquire another appointment for her with him in the near future. The
location is irrelevant as I've promised to provide her transport."

"It is done. The old
maestro owes me a favor or two from his early days."

The Regent and Gallant
discussed his course of action regarding Bessima, and she assured him she would
attend to the matter of securing Illusia's barrier immediately.

Outwardly, Cherry appeared
to be paying atten-tion; inwardly, she was working on a personal puzzle. She
thought she should be overjoyed to hear the Regent's implication that an
appointment with Theodophilus was a simple matter to arrange. It was what she wanted
more than anything in the universe.
Right?

Half of her mind shouted,
absolutely!.
But it was the other, silent half that had her worried.

"Good Heavens, Rom,
what is it?" Aster paused to catch her breath after the hurried trip from
her office to his. He had sent her a mental message to come quickly without
elaborating why.

Rom's eyes sparkled the
bright green they always did when he was happy or up to mischief. "I
didn't say you had to run, but I'm glad you did. There's something in the
adjoining suite I want you to see."

He opened the side door of
his office and waved for Aster to precede him.

Cherry's delighted squeal
was probably heard throughout the building as she caught sight of Aster.

Aster started crying
immediately and only a very long, clinging hug calmed her. "Thank God
you're all right! I've been so worried." As soon as she recovered from the
welcome shock of seeing Cherry, she turned on Gallant. "You, I am not
happy to see. Your execution is scheduled for dawn. Be there!"

Cherry burst out laughing
at the look on Gallant's face as his gaze darted between the three of them
trying to tell whether Aster was serious. She gave her best friend another hug.
"It's good to be home, kid. I missed you. I'd rather you cancel the firing
squad, though. The man looks like the devil, but he has proven to have a number
of angelic qualities."

Cherry could see neither
Aster nor Rom was entirely convinced, and it was up to her to break the
tension. She held out her hand to Gallant and he grasped it like a lifeline. "Let's
sit down so we can fill you in."

Throughout the telling of
their story, Cherry held Gallant's hand and occasionally touched his cheek or
his hair. It was her way of reassuring everyone— including him—that he was
forgiven for kidnapping her as far as she was concerned.

When the conversation
switched to talk of babies and false labor, Rom suggested the two women remain
in the suite and visit while he and Gallant attended to the arrangements for
his trip to Outer-world.

"Cherry Cochran!"
Aster exclaimed as soon as the door closed behind the men. "I don't
believe you finally got bitten, and I wasn't even around to witness the
phenomenon."

"What are you talking
about?"

"Don't play innocent
with me. I know you too well. You look at that man like… well, like I look at
Rom. How dare you fall in love without my written approval?"

"Love?" Cherry
practically choked on the word. "Don't be ridiculous. The baby must be
affecting your memory. I'm immune to that particular disease and you know
it."

"Oh, I see. We're
still in the denial stage. Fine.

I've waited this long to
see it happen to you; I don't mind waiting a little longer."

"Listen, kid. Don't
waste your time fantasizing about me and Gallant living happily ever after. As
soon as I finish helping him tie up this assignment, he's taking me to audition
for Theodophilus's company, then he'll be leaving on another mission, probably
in the opposite direction from anything remotely similar to civilization. It's
been fun, but it's almost over. So, let's talk about what you're going to name
our little girl."